Upfront: Bringing Sexy Back

A wiser than expected TV character once suggested that Gustave Flaubert’s novel “Sentimental Education”—perhaps literary history’s greatest story of unconsummated desire—can be summed up with the maxim “anticipation is the purest form of pleasure.” With that in mind, here’s a friendly warning for anyone who has spent the week daydreaming of a passionate carnal ending to the perfect romantic evening this Saturday night: Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about love, not sex.

On the other hand, we can’t deny that love and sex can go together better than a good coffee and a great dessert, and when the mix of the two is just right, they can do as much for the figurative heart as the healing powers of red wine and dark chocolate do for the literal one.

This Valentine’s Day, the Upfront Gallery and The Aquarium are co-hosting a multi-venue, multi-media event that isn’t afraid to approach the more lascivious side of the big L-word. Bringing together visual arts, music, poetry, fashion, and performance art, the evening offers different interpretations and forms of erotic expression that will range from the sweet to the satirical to the downright dead sexy.

While Valentine’s Day is notorious for making the unattached feel the way financially struggling parents must sometimes feel on Christmas Eve, the people behind the event stress that the night can also be an opportunity to pursue a different kind of love—the love of community, friends and quality art—while intermixing with all those lovebirds fluttering up and down Broadway this Saturday.

“So many Valentine’s events are centered on couples, but while couples are certainly welcome and expected, this event gives people who aren’t in a couple something fun to do,” said The Aquarium’s Chris Hennen.

It all begins with the Upfront Gallery’s Annual Erotic Art Exhibit, a show that gallery director James Wolberg says has typically been their most popular in terms of both artist submissions and audience response. The event is free and open to the public and runs from 6 to 9 p.m.

The exhibit contains an impressive selection of erotic art from regional artists working in various media and features two local artists, Sabrina Hornung and Mattew Scilley. Both featured artists stray from traditional notions of erotic art, with Horung focusing on a more subdued and understated approach and Scilley veering toward a less-is-more form of abstract sensuality.

“My show’s main emphasis is the playful nature of guys interacting, and while flesh is often associated with erotica, I wanted to emphasize the innocence of it all,” Hornung said.

At first glance, Horung’s work may seem out of place when compared to some of the exhibit’s more sexually charged pieces, but it makes more sense when you consider her take on Valentine’s Day.

“I think to back to childhood when we would all make Valentines for each other,” she said. “To me, that was more important than making it a big romantic evening as an adult.”

Horung’s focus on the sweet side of sexuality reminds one of the climatic scene in the film “Amelie,” where a series of gentle, childlike pecks on the face and neck replace the traditional Hollywood-style explosive screen kiss and its suggestion of even steamier events about take place behind the black curtain of the rolling end credits.

“Erotic art generally contains highly sexualized stimuli, but I wanted mine to portray camaraderie and innocence,” Hornung added.

Co-featured artist Mattew Scilley admits that his work is perhaps more tame than most erotic art, but he also suggests that it hints at a more subtle form of the erotic.

“Looking at a piece individually, it may appear like a traditional figure drawing,” he said, “but the series as a whole gives it a context of intimacy, with some poses showing a surrendering and others leaning more toward empowerment.”

While the two featured artists tastefully downplay the sex factor, several works in the exhibit explore the outer boundaries of eroticism without crossing into the soulless void of shock for the sake of shock alone. Other pieces of interest include Nathan Mastrud’s “Hardwood with Beaver Bite Marks,” a work you have to see to appreciate just how clever the title is, and one by Adam Elznic that will forever change how you think of the Williams Carlos Williams poem “The Red Wheelbarrow.”

These samples provide a mere bite-sized taste of the exhibit, which offers up an impressive feast of stand out creations, served within the Upfront’s intimate confines.

Following the Erotic Art Exhibit, the night will continue at The Aquarium with the Erotic Ball and the Madonnarama contest. With both prizes and a discounted cover charge available to those who arrive in an erotic-themed costume, the night promises a fascinating mix of the people watchers and the watch-me people. Starting around 10 p.m. and running to closing time, the Erotic Ball coincides with a return of the Madonnarama contest, a local event originally organized by Phil Leitch and brought back to life last year by The Aquarium.

Four bands – The Fringe Benefit, Fine Young Knives, Tune-in Tokyo, and a collection of musicians headed up by former Battle at Sea saxophonist Trevor Cook – will each perform four different Madonna songs in any style they choose. In addition, all the bands will perform a fifth song, the 2005 hit “Hung Up.” As a tribute to Madonna’s undisputed title as the Queen of Erotic Pop, a Madonna dance party will follow the contest. 

Around 1 a.m., the action for some will move back to the Upfront Gallery, where those who snatch up an advance ticket will enjoy a variety of burlesque performance pieces mixed in with music and poetry. Local singer/songwriter Amanda Standalone put together this mixed media ensemble, which she says emphasizes the need to explore a less serious view of sexuality.

Inspired by the type of work featured at the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis, the performance pieces will include the reenactment of a silent film, an extreme love of food, and a mail-order bride sketch. As far as love and sex go, Amanda says that “for comedy purposes, it is sometimes better to separate the two.” 

Tickets for the show are $10 and the availability is limited, so anyone interested should not hesitate to reserve one by stopping at the Upfront Gallery (hours run from Noon to 5:30 p.m.), by phone (701-364-0934), or via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)). 

Erotic Art Show: 6-9 p.m. Upfront Gallery Free
Erotic Ball and Madonnarama 10 p.m. to close The Aquarium $5 or $3 with costume
Burlesque Show 1 a.m. Upfront Gallery $10 Advance Tickets

Credits:
Photo by Gabe Haney, Design by Raul Gomez
Models: (L-R) Kate Thureen, Andi Thoreson, Cassandra Miller
Special Thanks: Fantasies, Reed & Taylor, Haney’s Photography, Salon Why